


The Reveal

by raspberry_reef



Category: Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:27:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28523952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raspberry_reef/pseuds/raspberry_reef
Summary: Ruby tells the story of Green earning his first Contest ribbon.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	The Reveal

**Author's Note:**

> Please ignore the incongruities, I know Fallarbor doesn’t have Normal Rank, etc.

Window lights shone so brightly throughout Goldenrod City that one would think it was daytime walking through the streets. And the brightest lights, along with the loudest sounds, came from the tallest floor of Goldenrod’s most famous hotel where ten dexholders were holding their first reunion since the Battle Frontier incident.

“We have ya’ beat nine to one, Ruby! Admit it, battles are better than contests!”

“That’s ridiculous, you haven’t even asked any of them which one they prefer.”

“Then let’s ask,” Sapphire smirked, then shouted at the top of her lungs, “RAISE YER HAND IF YA’ LIKE BATTLES MORE THAN CONTESTS!”

Ruby, ironically, turned a ruby-red color as he observed all the dexholders turn their heads towards the duo. He wished Sapphire could use a more civilized method, like clinking glasses.

Gold spoke first, which was never a good sign. “Is Fashionable Boy arguing about those lame contests again?”

Crystal smacked him on the head, causing him to wilt and then scram from her limbs’ range. “They’re not lame! Ruby’s allowed to like whatever he wants  _ without _ judgment.”

The boy in question gave a silent thank you to his senior.

“Battles are still better.” 

“See, Silver agrees with me.”

“What about Blue? Someone with impeccable fashion sense should understand why contests are superior.”

“I appreciate the compliment but I’m afraid I do prefer battling. Especially when I win.” 

“Ha! Yer flattery blew up in yer face! And there’s no way Red or Emerald’s going to agree with you!”

Ruby turned even redder and was about to retort when...

“Hmm, should we say battles are better based on dexholders?” Yellow’s quiet, but firm voice caught all of their attention. “Battles are how villains spread disasters, so battles are also how us dexholders end them. Contests are celebrations of Pokémon outside their strength and that makes them valuable.” 

The room turned silent as no one in their right mind would argue with Yellow, but unfortunately, Gold was rarely in his right mind. 

“It’s like you said, Pokémon battles save the world so they’re obviously better!” 

Red tried to salvage whatever was left of Gold’s image by pulling him to the side, but Gold saw it as tacit agreement.

“Red, you agree with me–you’re the Fighter, after all.”

Stuck between technically saying the truth and making Yellow upset, he could only stutter. “Er, well...um...”

Ruby interrupted, to Red’s eternal gratitude. “Pokémon battles may save the world, but Pokémon contests make it worth living in!” 

“As if!” Emerald huffed. “Have you seen the crowds at the Battle Frontier compared to your measly contest halls? It’s obvious which one’s superior.” 

And so their bickering continued as Yellow’s insight was lost on them. Ruby was clearly fighting a losing battle, so he pulled his final trump card.

“You know, there’s one person who hasn’t said anything yet.” His eyes landed on Green, who was comforting Yellow after her words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

“And what about it? Green obviously prefers battles, he’s a Gym Leader!” Sapphire retorted. 

“Maybe so, but there’s no one who’s better suited to convince you battle maniacs.” Ruby cleared his throat, ready to deliver a tremendous blow to Sapphire’s argument. “For Senior Green has not only participated, but won a Contest of his own!”

“WHAT?!” All the dexholders shouted simultaneously, exactly the reaction Ruby had hoped for. He may have lost the war, but he wouldn’t go down without a fight. They all stared at Green, who seemed unfazed by their collective shout. He wordlessly stood up, walked to the shelf where each dexholder stored their pokéballs before joining the party, and sent out his Golduck. This time, the group gave a collective gasp as they noticed the shining green ribbon on one of Golduck’s head spikes. Not used to the attention, Golduck turned to his trainer, who simply gave the Pokémon a reassuring nod before returning it back into the pokéball.

“Does that answer your question?”

“N-No! I have a million more questions now!” Red sputtered.

Sapphire, Blue, and Gold joined Red in flooding him with questions while the rest found it better to keep quiet. Meanwhile, Ruby was as smug as a Sableye pulling a prank. 

“When did you get a Ribbon?!”

“How could you not tell me, your best friend?!”

“Do you have video?”

Ruby’s voice rose above them all. “Now, now. All your questions will be answered in due time. If Senior Green won’t tell the story, then I will.”

“Go ahead.” Green plopped into an armchair, curious to how Ruby would tell his story and secretly enjoying the reactions of his peers. If there was anything he learned from that contest, it was that Ruby was best when he was shocking his audience.

“Many months ago was when this unforgettable day began...”

* * *

Ruby huddled under a tree, shielding himself from even the Sun as he tried to force his breathing to return to normal. It was probably the worst day to be hyperventilating, but there was a good reason for that. He had a contest, and not just any contest, but the first contest where his father was going to be in the audience. He had received Ruru back and planned to win all the ribbons she had missed out on during her adventure with Wally. Then just a few hours before the Normal Contest would start, his father declared his intention to see Ruby perform at the Fallarbor Contest Hall. Upon hearing the news, Ruby promptly left the building and ran as far as he could before Ruru stopped him with a Confusion. 

After an unknown amount of time, a shadow flew across the ground, which wouldn’t be unusual considering the high amount of Skarmory living in the area, but this shadow stopped above him and grew bigger, indicating a descent. Ruby leapt from his spot and prepared to sprint, but paused upon hearing his name.

“Ruby.” The voice was unfamiliar, but Ruby had certainly heard it before. Turning around slowly, he recognized the Charizard that had used Blast Burn at the Battle Frontier as well as its trainer, who was also Ruby’s senior.

“Senior Green! What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing. I thought you didn’t like getting dirt everywhere.” He tapped the ground with his foot, indicating that the dirt was indeed, everywhere. The dexholder had his usual serious expression.

Ruby was paralyzed with a sudden fear and couldn’t reply, even if he wanted to. Green noticed his distress and sent out his Golduck to help Ruby relax with a Calm Mind. The junior flinched at first but Golduck approached him slowly to signal his good intention. A moment later, Ruby felt better, at least enough to speak.

“Sorry for worrying you, Senior Green.”

“You want to talk about it?”

Ruby bored holes into the ground as he contemplated what to say, realizing his senior wouldn’t up and abandon him after witnessing his pathetic state. Which should be a good thing, but Ruby would rather jump into the jaws of a Mawile than talk about his feelings.

“Senior Green, do you know why I lost to you at the Battle Frontier?”

“You weren’t trying your hardest.” 

“You probably thought it was because I hate battling, but I actually did want to fight... However, in the moment you sent out your Pokémon, you reminded me of my father.”

Green’s brow furrowed. “...Because we’re Gym Leaders?” 

“N-No!” Ruby had completely forgotten Green was the Viridian City Gym Leader. “I-It’s because you’re... you seem...” He paused, trying to find the right word. He didn’t know why, but he was waiting for Green to shout the right word at him. He felt the Golduck try another Calm Mind on him, reminding Ruby that Green was in fact, patiently waiting for Ruby to finish. Ruby didn’t think he was the patient kind based on his interactions with seniors Blue and Red, but perhaps it was different with his juniors. Or perhaps it was because they weren't in the middle of a world-altering crisis.   


“You’re not him.” Ruby sighed, not looking up. “Of course not, what am I saying?” Having finally calmed down, he collected his thoughts together. Then he panicked. “THE CONTEST! Senior Green, what time is it?!”

Despite the sudden shout, Green pulled out his Pokégear without hesitation, reading the time. 

“It’s 2:16. Are you late?” Green returned the device to his back pocket. 

Ruby sighed in relief. “Whew, I still have almost an hour.” 

“You’re still nervous.”

“Was it that obvious?”

“No, Golduck is telling me.” He raised the screen of his Pokédex to show the words  _ Ruby is still nervous. _

Ruby stared at the words, then back at Golduck. “Wow, that’s incredible! Your Golduck has a lot of potential!” He began walking around the Pokémon, examining it from all sides and muttering phrases. “Serious nature... no preference... but likes to eat...”

“Don’t you have to prepare for your contest?”

Ruby snapped back to reality at the word “contest,” but was then back to being nervous. He finally decided to be honest before Golduck could rat him out, unsure if the Pokémon could read his thoughts.

“My father is watching today, and I can’t shake off the jitters. What if I do horribly and end up dead last?” Ruby tensed up, waiting for Green’s reaction, but relaxed once he understood the senior dexholder was simply thinking.

“Hmm, you’re afraid you’ll mess up in front of your dad. Do you want to bring Golduck with you?”

“Thanks for the thought, but it’s only one Pokémon per contestant. And Ruru here is my partner.” Ruru peeked out from its hiding spot behind Ruby to wave at Green, then moved to stand next to Ruby. 

“Wait, I’ve got it!” Ruby’s eyes shone with the intensity of Jirachi’s third eye. “If I’m terrified of coming in last, then I know how to guarantee that I won’t. Senior Green, you have to enter the contest with me!”

Green looked genuinely shocked for once. “W-What?! I don’t think so.”

“Please, Senior Green, you have to help me! If you’re there, I know I can do well!” Then he began muttering again. “Hall pass... Verdanturf... 15 minutes...” 

“Hey, I didn’t agree to this!” 

Ruby got on his knees, even though he knew it meant his pants would be caked with ash. “Senior Green, it would mean everything if you could help! If I do well, my father will finally understand my dream...”

Green must have been swayed by the mention of family, because he replied, “Fine. Make this quick, I still have an errand to run.”

Overjoyed, Ruby nearly hugged his senior until he noticed how unprepared Green and Golduck were for a contest. But this was no matter for the stylish Ruby, who could fix up any look. 

30 minutes later, they were at the booth to enter in Green as a last-minute contestant under the pseudonym “Gary.” Ruby had stuffed Golduck chock full of bitter Pokéblocks, shined up his head, and tied a green scarf around one of its spikes. As for “Gary,” Ruby had given him a pair of “smart” glasses to make him less noticeable. Unfortunately, between the trips to and from Verdanturf, there was no time to fix his clothes, hair, and frown.

The two separated at the hallway to the stage, waiting behind their respective doors. The contest hall speaker blared names, sponsors, and applause from the audience. Ruby hoped “Gary” wouldn’t bail on him, knowing full well he could easily escape the contest staff with only his Golduck. Confident that his fellow dexholder wouldn’t abandon him like before, Ruby was able to give a stellar entrance with Ruru, using her shining horns to further display intelligence. Every step was calculated and in sync with Ruru. He purposefully kept his eyes closed to show how much he knew the stage even without sight, and to avoid the eyes of his father who might distract him from the performance. 

He finally opened his eyes at the end of his walk, hearing the applause of the audience that in most cases made him shine brighter. He scanned all the seats before identifying his father by his stern expression. He wasn’t clapping along with the audience. Ruby could feel the nerves rising but forced them down. 

Eventually, he heard the host call forth Gary. Ruby held his breath, but gave the biggest sigh of relief when he saw Green and Golduck casually walk toward the front of the stage. Since it was the Normal Contest, Gary’s clearly “unintelligent” entrance wasn’t a big deal, though it was noticeably poor to the trained eye. He didn’t seem to care regardless, staring (or glaring, he couldn’t tell because of the glasses) at Ruby from his side of the stage.

Next came the Appeal, which was much easier due to the Pokémon doing most of the work. However, Ruby knew his introduction would be just as important as the performance itself and managed to recite his lines with practiced confidence. He hoped he hadn’t sounded too shaky. 

Ruru displayed an impressive show of intelligence with Confusion at Ruby’s command, an act that had easily won him ribbons back in Johto. Ruru intentionally decreased the power of her Confusion to make a visible wave pattern on the stage, dazzling the audience with an illusion. Unfortunately, Ruby’s father looked far less than impressed, his expression remaining unchanged from before. 

Ruby didn’t notice Green had been staring at him with concern at the time, because Ruby was busy internally panicking. What if Ruby won, and nothing changed? His father had given him permission to participate, but was that all he wanted? Even if his father could say he approved, was it really true if his face was as unforgiving as all the days he told Ruby he was worthless for liking contests? Would Ruby ever be enough?

Ruby noticed his PokéNav buzz. Since his section was over, he looked at the screen, reading the words  _ Everything okay? _ Golduck must have sent a message over! Ruby tried to give a reassuring smile, but looked back at his father, who was looking at the next contestant perform. His PokéNav buzzed again.

_ I have an idea. _

Ruby gulped, hoping this idea wasn’t about to ruin his relationship with his father even more. He looked over and was amazed to see Golduck performing Calm Mind before his turn! If anyone called him out, he’d be disqualified! Before Ruby could intervene, the host announced it was Gary’s turn. 

Silence filled the air as Green didn’t give a command. The audience started whispering, turning to each other to confirm what they were seeing. Ruby appreciated the effort to help him win, but then why all the Calm Minds?

Suddenly, buzzes rang through the hall along with Ruby’s own PokéNav. Everyone began to check their PokéNav, including Ruby’s father. Ruby couldn’t believe what he, and by extension everyone else, was reading.

_ Ruby is a master of his craft, more dedicated to his passion than a lifelong trainer. _

Many gasps and murmurs could be heard, but Ruby ignored all of them. He felt tears well up at the thought that a battle maniac he met not one year ago could say what he wanted to hear from his own father. 

Looking over at Green, Ruby noticed his frown had turned into a small smile, and he nodded at the junior. Ruru’s horns shined even brighter as she felt all of Ruby’s joy and catharsis. The audience was now giving a full-on applause at Green’s performance, many expressing their amazement.

At the end of the voting, Gary had proved victorious to the contestant’s surprise. He frowned again, expecting that Golduck’s performance would convince the audience to vote for Ruby. In the main lobby, Ruby ran up and hugged Green without hesitation. 

“Did you really mean what you said, Senior Green?”

Green didn’t seem to acknowledge him yet, still lost in his confusion. Golduck poked at his trainer to get his attention. “Hmm... I guess the trick backfired. Ruby, you should take this.” Green handed over the ribbon, but Ruby shook his head.

“No, you deserve it! I’ve never seen a more ‘smart’ performance in my life (even though he cheated),” Ruby insisted, pushing Green’s hand away.“Put it on your Golduck already!” 

Green relented and placed the ribbon on the leftmost spike on Golduck’s head. Green looked like he was still debating whether to keep it on, but decided to leave it when Golduck expressed some delight at having a ribbon. 

* * *

“And so ends the unforgettable Contest.” Ruby bowed as he finished his story to the other dexholders, decidedly leaving out the rest of the story.

Sapphire was the first to speak. “I don’t believe it! Yer making it up! I bet ya gave him that ribbon.”

“Did not!”

Red cut in. “Not that I don’t believe you, but Green’s the most rule-following guy I know. It’s hard to imagine he would cheat to win a contest.” 

Silver nodded in assent, remembering his “lawful” arrest after the Masked Man incident.

Yellow came to Ruby’s defense. “It sounds possible. Golduck’s been able to communicate by Pokédex for years. Though the PokéNav trick is new.”

“What? How have I not heard of this?” Blue turned to Green, who simply shrugged. “It would have been  _ so _ useful. You’ll have to teach me sometime.”

“That’s not happening.” 

“I promise I won’t use it for anything illegal!”

“So, are we going to figure out if Green actually cheated or not?” Emerald inquired.

“That’s easy, Odd Boy. Just get Straw Hat Gal to look at Golduck’s memories.”

Yellow looked at Green for permission, who nodded. She closed her eyes and placed a hand on Golduck’s head. After a tense few seconds, she jerked her hand back in surprise. 

“Well? Whad’ya see?” 

Yellow didn’t answer, instead bursting into laughter. 

“What’s so funny, Straw Hat Gal?!” 

Yellow only continued to laugh. When she finally stopped enough to speak and wipe the tears from her eyes, she still didn’t answer. Instead, she grabbed her sketchbook and started drawing. Realizing what she was doing, Green debated whether or not to stop her but ultimately deciding to act oblivious.

Sapphire and Ruby were tapping their feet impatiently, albeit for different reasons, while everyone else simply shrugged at each other. 

Yellow finally spoke. “This...” She turned her sketchbook to the group, “is what I saw.” It depicted Green and Golduck standing, but most noticeable was the fact that Green was wearing something resembling the Trick Master’s trademark swirly glasses.

Red burst into laughter first. “Green... you wore those?!”

“Ruby, tell me you have a video of this.” said Blue in between giggles. 

“Sadly I don’t, but this proves that my story is 100% true!” 

Sapphire grumbled. “It doesn’t mean contests are better.”

“It means Senior Green respects the art of contests, and you have to respect your senior.” Ruby tutted, waving a finger in front of Sapphire’s face.

“So Green did cheat?” Crystal asked.

“Yes, I did.” Green answered. “However,” he glared at Gold who was most certainly thinking about blackmail. “I explained it to the staff and there were no consequences.”

“Because it was a spectacular performance!” Ruby added. 

“Regardless, he still cheated.” Blue stated. “Wasn’t it Green who said we had to be good role models?”

“I guess this means we get to cheat first and apologize later!” Gold cheered, earning another glare from the dexholder. 

Crystal also glared at Gold. “The lesson here is that it’s okay to bend the rules if you have good intentions. And Green was prepared for the consequences, unlike  _ somebody _ here who always runs away from them."

Gold and Crystal continued to bicker over what constituted good intentions while many other dexholders decided it was best to avoid an angry Crystal. Meanwhile, Ruby managed to excuse himself from Sapphire’s grasp by agreeing to train with her sometime after the reunion. Approaching the seats where his seniors Green and Yellow were talking, he tapped Yellow’s shoulder to ask her if he could have a moment with Green. She got up with a knowing smile, and bowed to Green before joining Emerald at the refreshment table. 

“I never told you what happened after you left.” 

“You don’t have to.” 

“My father congratulated me.” 

“Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Yes... it was.” Ruby sighed. “Now I want to hear... the words you said. Do you think my father would say that if he was hiding behind a mask?”

“Do you think I wouldn’t have said that if I entered as myself?”

“...Would you have?”

Green was silent for a moment. “My title is the Trainer. I can tell when a Pokémon is well-trained.” 

At Ruby’s puzzled look, Green continued. “Well-trained doesn’t always mean strong. Your pokémon are highly skilled in contests, and that’s because their trainer is highly skilled.” He gave Ruby a reassuring pat on the shoulder, then leaned back into the armchair.

“Thank you,” Ruby smiled at the compliment.

Then he said, “But what does that have to do with my father?”

“I don’t know anything about Norman, but...” Green stared at Ruby, now serious. “If you continue to look for his approval, you’ll never realize that you don’t need it.”

Ruby was quiet. He looked around the room, at his friends and his seniors, who were all gathered to celebrate their achievements as a group and their abilities as individuals. His father was not here. 

His eyes eventually rested on Golduck’s ribbon, letting himself become lost in its glow. It reflected the room’s light in a brilliant gold and stood forever a reminder of his senior’s sincerity. With that, Ruby relaxed, letting the bright light claim his vision. 

**Author's Note:**

> Since you made it this far, have my poor attempt at Yellow's drawing:  
> https://imgur.com/a/qRZIjnb


End file.
